


You are my anchor

by LucysArchives



Category: The Witcher (TV)
Genre: Bathing/Washing, Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotions, Fluff, Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia Has Feelings, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Idiots in Love, Jaskier | Dandelion Has Feelings, Jaskier | Dandelion Loves Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia, Light Angst, M/M, Non-Sexual Intimacy, One Shot, Platonic Cuddling, Sad Jaskier | Dandelion, Soft Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia, Writing Exercise
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-22
Updated: 2020-12-22
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:35:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,293
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28243254
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LucysArchives/pseuds/LucysArchives
Summary: One evening, Jaskier gets really drunk (against Geralt's orders) and experiences fear of abandonment.Now, the witcher has to deal with an emotional mess of a bard who wants a new sort of affection Geralt has yet to understand.Or: Geralt of rivia comforts Jaskier. That's basically it.He's angry at first, but they love each other.
Relationships: Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia & Jaskier | Dandelion, Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia/Jaskier | Dandelion
Comments: 5
Kudos: 107





	You are my anchor

He knew something was off when he entered the pub.  
Normally, the attention would linger on the new person for a brief moment, unfamiliar eyes observing the trespasser.  
But all eyes were on a familiar figure who was standing on the bar and talking in a loud and dramatic voice that was just emphasized by a soft hiccup here and there.  
Geralt recognized him at once.  
The delicate physique, grey eyes basically glowing in the dimmed light, the awful bright clothing.  
Jaskier was in his damn element, standing in front of a crowd and jabbering about his recent adventures.  
And maybe it was just because everyone was drunk, but they were completely under his spell, nobody was throwing something at the young bard.  
The witcher would be impressed if he didn't exactly know what the other man was talking about.  
Or rather who.

"... Trust me", he heard him say, " I have become quite acquainted with the legend everyone of you has heard of at least once in your short lifetime.  
The man, the beast, the Witcher..."  
Some people in the crowd began to murmur. Mentioning the Witcher always made an impression.  
After a short pause to regain the people's attention, Jaskier smiled widely.  
"Geralt of Rivia. Hair like the feral snowstorms in Kaedwen, his eyes like the sweet honey..."  
Geralt didn't need to hear more of that drunk rhapsody.  
His slow steps sounded loudly on the wooden floor as he started to made his way through the small crowd which quickly got out of his way as they recognized him, fear and respect in their eyes.  
Even a certain musician choked on his words and paled the second he spotted him.  
"Bard", Geralt growled lowly, causing Jaskier to tremble.  
" You were a lovely audience!", he proclaimed to no one in particular before attempting to climb from the bar and get out of there.  
But the witcher wouldn't let him get away that easily.  
With the last step, he snatched him from the bar and carried him at his collar up the stairs and to the room they rented.  
The drunk bard struggled in his grasp and made a few attempts to speak that Geralt ignored.

The second they entered the washroom of their chamber, Jaskier was dropped onto the bare floor, gasping for air.  
"I can explain everything!", the man uttered and struggled to get up on his knees, coughing slightly.  
" The whole scenery was not planned at all! I-"  
"I ordered you to stay sober."  
"And I did! But life is beautiful in its unpredictability, isn't it? And the people wanted a performance! You know me, that's a temptation I can hardly resist!"  
Their eyes met and the bard fell silent immediately, regretting everything he said.

Geralt took a deep breath to calm himself.  
When he crouched down to his fellow traveler, Jaskier winced.  
Thoughtfully, he grabbed the chin of the smaller man and pulled him closer, scanning him.  
"The one thing you needed to do was staying alert so we can travel on at sunrise", he hissed quietly.  
Jaskier tried to say something but Geralt strengthened his hold to cut him off, eyes glowing in the semi-darkness.  
"I don't care what you have to say, bard. If you are not sober by tomorrow, I will leave you behind."  
He let go, stood up, and attempted to leave the room.

"I'm sorry", he heard quietly.  
Beside every instinct he had, the Witcher paused in the doorframe.  
He didn't overhear the quiet sob in his voice and his anger dissolved a little.  
"By the gods", he cursed quietly and looked over his shoulder.  
He never liked seeing Jaskier cry and the softly weeping mess on the floor made his heart ache.  
He should just leave.  
But without any help, the bard would get high on some herbs to help himself with the hangover or worst-case scenario, find more to drink.  
And with this thought in his head, the white-haired man went over to the tub in the corner of the room and checked the water temperature.  
Cold. Good.  
"Get rid of your clothes and in here", he commanded.  
Jaskier looked up and seeing that the witcher's gaze had softened a bit, he obeyed and stripped out of his with alcohol stained clothes.  
Still drunk, his movements were a bit clumsy, and Geralt had to hold himself back not to help him with it.  
"It's cold", Jaskier complained after dipping his finger into the water.  
"Get in or I will make you", Geralt answered calmly.  
With a lot of cussing, the bard sat down in the tub and shivered heavily.  
"It will help you sober up. Drink this."  
After putting a flask with water in his hands, Geralt sat down next to the tub and started cleaning Jaskier's face and upper body with a cloth.  
"I-I don't want you to leave me behind..."  
"I know."  
Jaskier sniffled repressedly.  
"You wouldn't just do that, right?"  
He turned his head to look at Geralt, his eyes were swollen from crying.  
"I mean, we have traveled for so many months...we are friends, right? You wouldn't do that..."  
The bard's moods when he was drunk were very diverse and could contain both loud singing and signs of depression, both of which the Witcher had learned to handle over time.  
The bard's scent was bitter, his usual aroma covered with fear and sadness.  
With a quiet sigh, Geralt carefully wiped the new tears away.  
"You act like you would be alone. You are never alone", he reminded the younger man.  
" I would be!", he insisted.  
"It's not the same without you... you know that..."  
Another sigh.  
"I know. I won't leave you behind, Jaskier."  
He could watch the grey eyes light up at the sound of his name, his scent sweetening.  
"Promise?"  
He sounded like a child, his hands holding onto Geralt's wrist.  
He couldn't promise that.  
"I won't leave you behind", he repeated calmly, opened his grip, and continued to wash him.  
A comfortable silence emerged, he could feel the bard slowly relaxing under his touch.  
" I feel better", he softly announced after some time.  
The Witcher didn't respond, he just put the cloth away and leaned onto the edge of the tub.  
"Thank you, Geralt", his companion mumbled and smiled.  
" Hmm", he responded and cocked his head slightly.

Sometime later, both men laid in bed.  
They were used to share one by now, so Jaskier didn't have to sleep on the floor anymore.  
The witcher had closed his eyes many minutes ago, but he could smell Jaskier's restlessness that lingered in the air and kept him from sleeping.  
When he opened his golden eyes again, he met the bard's gaze.  
Jaskier winced startled by the sudden action, too many feelings in his eyes and scent that confused Geralt.  
"I told you not to stare while I'm asleep", Geralt mumbled in an almost sleepy voice.  
The fact that the Witcher didn't condemn him to sleep on the floor and the alcohol encouraged Jaskier to speak and he swallowed heavily.  
" Looking at you helps me to compose", he admitted and blushed slightly, "you are pleasant to look at."  
Geralt snorted softly.  
"I see now why you would compare my eyes to honey."  
The younger man made a terrified sound.  
"You heard that?!"  
"It was hard not to listen."  
"In my defense, you-"  
Further words were cut off when Geralt pulled him closer.  
"Just sleep, you annoying creature", he whispered lowly and kept his dandelion in a soft embrace until he fell asleep in his arms.  
Only when he felt Jaskier's heartbeat being steady, he closed his eyes again and drifted away in peaceful meditation.

Of course, he would never let himself become seriously attached to somebody.  
Would he?

**Author's Note:**

> It was more of a writing exercise than everything else, but I really enjoyed it! Let me know what you think of this one-shot in the comments and leave kudos if you liked it!
> 
> I don't really think anyone will find that in the first days, so... Merry Christmas to everyone!  
> I'm always open to new suggestions, I love writing short stories.


End file.
